Snowblower issues

I have a toro 3.5 hp ccr 1000 that I was given. It just seemed to push the snow and occasionally throws it a couple feet. Is this unit just not powerful enough for my needs or is there too much snow or is it too wet ? I was told that it dosent work as well as it use to and I might want to take it to a repair shop. Is it even worth getting looked at I don't want to spend money to tune up a unit that even at its peak performance dosent have enough power to tackle chicago winters. I would rather save the money and just by a bigger unit but for the 100 ft driveway and about 30ft of sidewalk I feel spending $500.00 on a unit is a little silly. Does anyone have any tips or trouble shooting ideas on what I should I do. Anything under 2 or 3 inches I could shovel just as easy as snowblow it. Ugh! I'm so lost . Thanks

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I've got a pretty big snowblower, but for the small amounts of snow, I just shovel(push) it to the sides of the driveway and then blow the now bigger piles at the sides onto the lawn. I have a 30" pusher shovel that works probably better than that for moving snow across my 3 car wide DW.

that snowblower is probably just good for a few inches. I keep wanting to get one of those smaller ones for the deck and for the occasions when the wife would shovel ... j/k .. the wife has shoveled maybe twice since we've been married.

i have a toro ccr 1000. i bought it well used on craigslist. it needed a little work to make it better = axel holes were worn out . so i welded on washed and that was good.

it worked well enough for 2 years. though it doesn't do "well" in heavy wet snow.
but it did well enough.

earlier this season, the scraper blade started to come apart. and i knew the paddles were worn. so i bought the kit on ebay for under $50 shipped.
i put the new paddles and scraper bar on. this thing woks pretty darned good now ! it doesn't throw the snow real far. but 15' is plenty far for me
i was looking to replace it with a more powerfull toro. but not any more (unless i find a super deal)

op. first, make sure it runs correctly. then check the belt condition and tightness. then look at the scrapper bar. then check the clearance of the paddles to machine = should be pretty close = under 1/8"

The little single stage ones like yours are good up to about 8 or 10 inches at the very most in most instances, and best used for light, powdery snow. The issue is these use the one big blade in front, the auger, to help propel it along, AND to break up and pull the snow in, AND to spit it out of the chute. So it can only do but so much before it gets overwhelmed. Whereas two stage units often have driven wheels and always have a separate impeller blade that pulls snow from the auger and blasts it out of the shoot. They can cut through higher, heavier snow because that one blade at the front of the blower isn't trying to do all those different jobs by itself.

If you get a foot-plus or it is the heavy/soggy stuff the single stage blowers will clog up quick and struggle to move the snow. What can also happen if it is angled to throw some of it in front of you is as the pile gets higher when you move along the snow will eventually get too high for it to handle and it will stop moving it.

Your 500 dollars will probably get you a solid used heavy duty unit. But if you look to buy brand new you'll probably need to spend 6 or more to get something that will do better. Either a heavier duty single stage unit or a very basic dual stage one. With what you have one of your main options is to shovel in anything more than a few light inches, defeating the purpose of a snow thrower which is to make the heaviest snow removal you're be faced with easier. Or else you'll have to trudge outside to make several passes during heavier storms. If you spend 600 bucks or more you can wait until the snow is completely done and go clear it all in 10 or 15 minutes, and the thing will last you 10 or 15 years.